It has been estimated that there are over 50,000 beer cans adorning this Texas oddity. John Milkovisch started his mammoth redecorating project in 1968. It is said the motivation for him to start using huge numbers of marbles, rocks and pieces of metal to create landscaping features to adorn the yard was that he simply "got sick of mowing the grass". Eventually the yard, both front and back, was entirely "hardscaped" so he moved on to the house. Over the course of the next two decades he covered ...
THE "BEER CAN" HOUSE
222 Malone St, Houston, TX 77007
29°45'50.32"N 95°25'8.15"W
... the house in flattened beer cans. Word has it his reasons were both decorative and practical; the family electric bills were greatly reduced along the way as the home was shaded from the brutal Teaxs summer sun by the garlands of beer can tops and pull tabs.
Milkovisch's monument to man's favorite drink lives on despite his death in 1988. Perhaps a quote from the man himself, adorning a wall inside the house to this day, says it best:
"They say every man should leave something to be remembered by. At least I accomplished that goal.”
In 2008 following a $400,000 restoration project the property was purchased by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and is now open for tours. Even the mighty New York Times reported on the dedication ceremony lead by then Houston Mayor Bill White that marked the end of the restoration project.
